


Promises Between Men

by maki_sensei16



Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Bisexual Owada Mondo, Character Study, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enoshima Junko Being An Asshole, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Taka, Homophobic Language, Kiyotaka deals with being a hormonal teen, M/M, Monokuma is surprisingly ok with this for some reason, Motives are there but no-one acts on them, Musical References, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Owada Mondo Swears, Pink Floyd References, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Acceptance, Self-Discovery, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Sexy tags will be added as they get included in the story, Togami Byakuya Being An Asshole, Trigger Happy Havoc rewrite, Yasuhiro is clueless, bi-panic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:27:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22146397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maki_sensei16/pseuds/maki_sensei16
Summary: Trapped in a strange version of their school with no escape in sight, Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mondo Owada have no choice but to deal with the unexpected feelings they develop for each other despite appearing to have no prior connection. Forced to face the despair within their hearts, will they be able to find hope within each other?An Ishimondo focused Trigger Happy Havoc Rewrite.
Relationships: Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 10
Kudos: 97





	1. Poles Apart

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write a multiple chapter Ishimondo fic for a while so I figured, why not use the first game as a base for that? No-one dies in this version because I just can't bear to kill anyone off so I guess Monokuma is treating this as a sort of social experiment to see what happens when a bunch of teens are locked up together. 
> 
> An advanced warning for not-Junko using homophobic language and just generally being a bitch. 
> 
> All chapter titles will probably be a reference to Pink Floyd songs because you know, Crazy Diamond? I also want to make things a bit more upbeat and humourous (as well as, you know...) as the chapters go on so hopefully I can strike those moods. It might be a bit bland in the beginning though, so please bear with me <3 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy the first chapter! :)

Why did it have to be like this? It had been a perfectly normal school day until he had taken a seat in that empty classroom.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru was always early, so when he heard the announcement and made his way to the classroom specified and found that no-one else besides him was there, it didn’t set off any alarm bells in the prefect’s head. Even though it was unusual for an announcement to be made at the time it was, he had no choice but to follow the rules and attend the meeting as promptly as possible. Doing otherwise would set a bad example of him as The Ultimate Moral Compass.

Why then, was he so suddenly overcome with fatigue the very moment he sat down? Even if consumed by an intense studying session, Kiyotaka always made sure to get a healthy amount of sleep. Being restless impaired one’s ability to learn after all and there was no way he would allow that.

So, when he woke up in the very same empty classroom, only to hear another announcement from a strange voice telling him to go to a different location, he was understandably confused. Again though, his strict rule-bound nature forced him to comply.

The new meeting place, the gym, was also empty when he arrived, being the first one there as usual. Slowly, the others began to trickle in as well. They were all wearing a strange assortment of uniforms, some Kiyotaka was sure couldn’t be up to school code.

He chastised one boy in particular for being the latest of them all. He seemed genuinely apologetic and confused as everyone else, but the poor excuse for a uniform! Having the audacity to wear a hoody of all things, Kiyotaka couldn’t let it slide.

Even more unsettling was the appearance of a student who was quite clearly a delinquent. His uniform was far too baggy for his large, muscular body for one thing, and, even worse-

“Explain the meaning behind this ridiculous hairdo! Is that a wig? Are you meant to be in some kind of costume? Either way, it is most certainly not suitable for a school environment!”

A vein on the boy’s forehead seemed to twitch. He moved toward Kiyotaka, fists scrunched up in the pockets of his oversized jacket.

“What the fuck did you just say about my hair, you fucking nerd?!”

Suddenly, Kiyotaka felt the large man leaning over him. His heart pounded in his chest. It wasn’t out of fear or anxiety though. In fact, Kiyotaka had no idea what the cause could be. A simple flight or fight reflex kicking in without his consent or control? No…there was more to it than that.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru was not one to back down though, so he continued his assault in the pursuit of an orderly dress code.

“I said that your hair, if one could even call it that, is ridiculous and most certainly in violation of school regulations regarding uniform.”

The man growled, fury apparent in his narrowing lavender eyes.

“Listen ere punk. This style here is the pride of my gang, The Crazy Diamonds. Ya insult it, ya insult them and I’m sure as shit not going to let crap like that fly!”

He raised a fist out from his pocket, the other hand extracted itself as well so that it could hoist Kiyotaka up by his collar. Goodness, this guy was strong.

That fist would have come crashing down onto Ishimaru’s face if not for the sudden appearance of a certain…stuffed animal?

The beast proceeded to inform them that they were all classmates trapped in a killing game. If they wanted to escape, they’d have to commit murder. If not, they would live out the rest of their days within the school building.

It was so absurd that Kiyotaka swore that he must have been dreaming. That theory was soon disassembled as the delinquent who was on the verge of assaulting him mere minutes ago had the gall to attack the thing.

This poor choice of impulsive actions resulted in the thing, who had introduced itself as Monokuma, becoming a literal ticking time bomb, going off and exploding seconds later. They only managed to avoid death due to the delinquent who Monokuma had introduced as Mondo Owada, The Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, having the sense to toss it out of their way.

The utter worst part of all this ridiculousness though to Kiyotaka, of which there was plenty, was the fact that he couldn’t get the biker off his mind afterwards.  
Whenever they were in the same room, Mondo’s presence would thoroughly irritate Kiyotaka and the prefect just couldn’t stop himself from stealing glances at him.

Mondo was so large, so strong, with such wonderfully defined muscles peeking out from the parts of him that were exposed by his uniform. Those thoughts were the most annoying of all, entirely unwelcome. Kiyotaka refused to accept those feelings as ones of attraction. He was absolutely not thinking about any of his classmates in an inappropriate manner, most certainly not HIM!

~~

Kiyotaka made up his mind to figure out a way to get Mondo out of his head. He just needed to distract himself, that was all. Thus, he set about conveying his plan to the others. He wanted to gather everyone together in the cafeteria at breakfast so that they could discuss whatever important issues were raised and in general, talk among themselves. Forming bonds was a great way to foster a positive sense of school spirit, after all. Something much needed in the situation they found themselves in.

The first morning went well. All according to plan apart from Junko’s rather off-colour remarks and flippant disregard for anything Kiyotaka said. That, and the fact that Mondo had the complete barbarism to put his feet up on the table where they ate. The thought of how unsanitary it was almost ruined his appetite completely, but Taka knew he had to keep his strength up.

He didn’t get as lucky the second time around. Much to Kiyotaka’s displeasure, everyone showed up except for Mondo. A lump formed in his throat, a sense of dread filling his heart. He couldn’t possibly be…No! Taka violently shook those thoughts from his mind. He couldn’t allow himself to think like that, to doubt his classmates that way.

“Aw man, no fair of Mondo to skip out like this while we all have to suffer getting up early.”

The moan of protest came from Yasuhiro, the so-called Ultimate Clairvoyant. His demeanour and “talent” irritated Kiyotaka. There was no way such a farce was built off of hard work.

“Yeah, shouldn’t you like, go drag him out his room like you’d do with us? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the big scary biker, or, could it be…?”

Junko smirked crudely, fully aware that whatever words came out her foul mouth next would fully mortify Kiyotaka even further.

“You’re going easy on him because ya like him? OMG, the nerd has a crush, how fucking precious!” Her ugly laugh echoed throughout the room.

“If that’s true, it is kind of sweet. You have my full support Taka!” Sayaka’s smile was warm, but Kiyotaka couldn’t tell whether it was genuine.

“Huh? But they’re both guys, right?” Hiro seemed confused.

“Enough! Mondo may be an outlaw, but he is still a student just like everyone else here. Thus, it is indeed my duty to recover him. A task that I shall go about undertaking this very instant!”

“Undertaking? Now that’s an interesting word choice. Perhaps someone has already decided to take the bear up on its offer.”

Taka couldn’t stay and listen to any more of it. Before Byakuya could continue his vulgar insinuations, he stormed out of the cafeteria towards the direction of the dormitories.

Did something in Byakuya’s words plant the seeds of doubt in his mind? He couldn’t help but be afraid that he would receive an answer when he pressed the doorbell beneath the name tag that clearly read ‘Mondo Owada’.

Those feelings of dread were replaced by relief as he got a response in the form of the door to the dorm opening. That feeling did not last, however, as Kiyotaka got a good look at the man standing slouched over in front of him.

Kiyotaka didn’t even recognise him at first without his pompadour all done up. There was no mistaking those striking lavender eyes and that impressive build though. Long tresses of bleached hair mixed with black fell in a dishevelled mess around Mondo’s face, framing it in a way that made his handsome features even more apparent than before. He yawned, rubbing a closed eye with the other peaked open at him groggily.

“What the fuck do you want?”

Kiyotaka’s gaze trailed down, unable to tear away from the outline of Mondo’s abs and bulging muscles of his arms clearly visible in the tight white undervest he was wearing. Even further down, Kiyotaka noticed that Mondo’s lower half was clad in tiger print boxers that seemed just a little bit too form-fitting.

“I came to fetch you because you were absent at breakfast. Care to explain yourself?”

Kiyotaka’s face felt hot. He desperately hoped it wasn’t showing but Mondo didn’t seem to notice, mercifully still in the process of waking up.

“Fuck. Musta overslept. I ain’t bullshitting ya. Couldn’t rest afta what that freak Monokuma told us.”

It did certainly appear that Mondo had just gotten out of bed, likely woken up by the sound of the doorbell. Kiyotaka was surprised though. For even someone like him to be affected that much, was there more to him than just a rule-bending delinquent?

“Look, ya don’t gotta tell me twice. I ain’t gonna be dragged out lookin’ like this so just give me like, 10 minutes ta do my hair.”

_To get dressed as well, hopefully._ Kiyotaka wasn’t sure he could stand much more of how warm his body was getting with him being so close to a half-naked, bed-headed Mondo.

“Very well, I’ll allow it, but I insist on waiting outside here so I can escort you there myself.”

Mondo was too tired to deal with this kid’s antics. It was much easier to just go along with it. Besides, it was kind of cute how he’d constantly glance off to the side, as if he was flustered by something despite the confidence and authority he carried in his voice and general demeanour. Wait…cute? It must have been the fatigue talking.

God, Mondo was going to need a motherfucking strong cup of coffee.

“Sure, whatever.”

The moment Mondo closed the door, Kiyotaka slumped against the wall between Mondo’s dorm and his own.

His body was betraying him, so powerfully struck by that impression of Mondo that he began to panic. His heart pounded in his chest and heat swirled in his abdomen. _There’s no way this is happening._ Attraction was not a feeling he was accustomed to or experienced often and on the rare occasion that he did, it was often very minor, certainly nothing this intense.

Was he finally blooming into his adolescence now, at the worst possible of times? Logically, Kiyotaka knew that being in a dangerous situation where your life was at risk could jump start and increase the instinct to create life as a survival mechanism. That instinct, however, was useless when the only people he felt that urge towards were those he couldn’t reproduce with at all!

_Think of textbooks, studying, anything to shake these immoral thoughts!_

As much as he wanted to deny and shun these feelings, he knew he could never allow Mondo to catch onto them, even if they didn’t exist, which was certainly the case. It was just a fabrication as a result of the stress he’d been placed under, that’s all.

Time dragged while Kiyotaka waited. He was just considering ringing the doorbell again when Mondo finally emerged, his pompadour done to perfection and wearing his usual outfit, much to Kiyotaka’s great relief.

“Look who’s being tardy now. Let’s go, hall monitor, before everyone leaves the cafeteria and me waking up was fer nothin'.”

Mercifully, the others had decided to wait, not wanting to have to deal with Kiyotaka’s scolding if they left.

“That took ya long enough. Where you two fucking while we were low-key dying of starvation waiting for you fags?”

Mondo’s eyes narrowed, glaring at Junko as though he was ready to pummel her any second.

“Yer fucking lucky I ain’t pussy enough ta hit a girl. Yer an insufferable fucking bitch but god fucking dammit those who lay their hands on chicks are worse scum than even you, and that’s saying a fucking lot.”

For the second time that day, Kiyotaka was caught off guard and in awe of Mondo’s words. Perhaps their moral compasses aligned more closely than he knew.


	2. Echoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an altercation at breakfast, Chihiro prompts Mondo to try and be more forgiving of Taka. Before he has a chance to act on this, the first motive is revealed and Mondo has a chilling revelation about his past and the people closest to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually managed to finish another chapter of this ~ I'm really sorry about the long wait. Work, studies and life, in general, have been eating my time. I REALLY want to finish this though and will do my best to keep updates somewhat regular, although they might take a while.
> 
> Warning in advance for descriptions of blood in this chapter.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy it, although it might be a bit short <3

“Now that we’re all here, I think we should start discussing more of the matters we spoke of yesterday.”

Kiyotaka cleared his throat, hoping to elevate the tension building around them.

“It’s the same throughout, I’m afraid. Asahina and I did another search yesterday to see if we could find anything we might have missed. Kirigiri came with as well and…”

Sakura sounded apologetic. Although her physical presence was intimidating, she had a soft, caring heart beneath all that muscle. Kiyotaka wondered if the same applied to Mondo.

“Nothing. We combed through every area and found no indication of anything that could lead to our escape or grant us access to the other areas.”

It must have been some sick, twisted game. An elaborate prank. Ishimaru was going to have to give whoever the culprit was an extremely stern punishment, when they managed to identify the coward.

“Are you fools still too naïve and sheltered to consider the possibility that this really is a killing game? You should be watching out for those liable to snap under pressure.”

Byakuya smirked and turned his gaze to Mondo, who was seated, legs on the floor this time with a steaming cup of coffee in hand.

“Hotheads who can’t keep their cool in the situation we find ourselves in, like him.”

Mondo shot him a death glare, knuckles whitening from the intensity of his grip around the handle of his mug.

“Ya better watch what ya say, ya fucking rich boy bitch. Yer kind toys with people’s lives for fun. Yer the one we should be watching out fer.”

“Enough! We shouldn’t be making accusations of anyone. If we allow ourselves to become divided, Monokuma gets what he wants. I cannot allow such a thing!”

Mondo scoffed, unsure of whether Kiyotaka was taking his side or Byakuya’s. Even someone like Kiyotaka couldn’t be completely neutral.  
Motherfucker be damned if this Togami bastard continued to tick him off…

“Mondo, as the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, you may be a criminal, but you are still a leader of some sorts. Don’t resort to cowardly acts like violence!”

Oh no fucking way. This hypocritical piece of shit was _not_ going to lecture him on what it meant to be a leader! Mondo threw his thankfully mostly empty down onto the ground in a rage, smashing it and sending small ceramic shards flying.

“Fuck this shit! I’m out.”

Mondo stormed out the cafeteria. Pure, white-hot anger had nullified his appetite.

~

_Shit_ …in his blinded rage and through the process of smashing the coffee cup, Mondo had cut himself. Pretty deeply at that too. He was currently running his bloodied hand under the water that streamed out of a facet in his ensuite bathroom’s sink, when he heard the doorbell ring.

“Fuck off!” Mondo shouted, hoping that whoever was bothering him would do exactly that.

“Um, Mondo, its Chihiro. I saw the trail of blood and was worried…”

The feminine voice trailed off. Chihiro was one of the few people in this place he could actually stand, genuinely sweet and well-meaning. Mondo’s heart wouldn’t allow him to ignore her.

“Chi! Gimme a sec, I’m coming now!”

Quickly, Mondo grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around his heavily bleeding hand, wincing as it soaked with crimson and sprinted over to the door.  
He swung the door open with the appendage that wasn’t injured and was immediately faced with a concerned Chihiro.

“Mondo, your hand!” The programmer uttered in shock.

“Yeah, its pretty bad. Sorry fer scaring ya.”

Chihiro shook her head, then pushed straight past him heading towards the bathroom where they unashamedly ruffled through the cabinet under the sink. It didn’t take long for her to find what she was looking for. A first aid kid that Mondo had completely forgotten was there.

Stunned to speechlessness by the fact that a girl, not to mention one as small, delicate and withdrawn as Chihiro had practically barged into his dorm room, Mondo slumped down helplessly onto his bed.  
He was thankful that the blood loss was making him dizzy when he spotted the other item Chihiro was carrying with them, a sewing kit. Apparently, all the girls had them in their rooms.

“Mondo, let me have a look at that, please.”

He wordlessly complied, cursing as the sticky towel peeled away from his skin, the partially dried blood creating a painful tug on his split skin.  
Chihiro’s face twisted, clearly somewhat squeamish at the sight of the slash on Mondo’s palm. They took a deep breath, then forced that look of unease back into a comforting smile.

“It doesn’t look too deep thankfully. I don’t think you’ll need stitches. What a relief.”

Chihiro set the sewing kit gently down onto the floor and instead popped open the first aid kit. From it, they removed a few cotton pads, disinfectant and bandages.

“This might sting, sorry in advance. If its ok, I’ll talk to help distract you from it.”

Mondo nodded, still woozy from the blood he’d lost, compounded by not having eaten anything at breakfast.

“Good. To tell you the truth, I wanted to talk to you, about Taka.”

Mondo cursed, more from the sting of disinfectant Chihiro was wiping on the fresh wound with a cotton pad than from the mention of Taka, but it still bothered him.

“I think he meant he meant well. He genuinely wanted to compliment you, but, well…I think he’s not very good at talking to people.”

Mondo winced, not replying as Chihiro began to wrap the bandages around his now clean hand.

“I’m the same or, at least, I can understand where he’s coming from. He probably feels really feels really bad, so you should try to talk to him. It was just a misunderstanding, yes?”

Was it? Had he overreacted? Maybe Taka did really mean well but he was just socially inept. He owed Chihiro for acting as his impromptu nurse, especially after he stupidly hurt himself as a result of lashing out like that.

“I can’t promise it’ll go down like ya want but I’ll try say sorry at least.”

This seemed enough to make Chihiro happy. Their smile was warm as they finished bandaging him up.

“I’m glad. Friends shouldn’t fight. Ah! I hope I did a good job, I don’t really have much experience with this sort of thing.”

They blushed, more than a little unsure of their handy work. From what Mondo knew from the times he and the other members of his gang needed patching up, it was a pretty solid job. Mostly importantly, the cut had stopped bleeding.

“Ya did great Chi. Thanks, ya really saved me.”

Chihiro positively beamed in response, happy with the praise. Once they recovered from the much-appreciated flattery, they returned the first aid kit to its place in the bathroom cabinet, picked up the sewing kit and began to make their exit, pausing for a moment before they left the room.

“Please come knock if you need help with anything. And try not stay mad at Taka, okay?”  
~  
Mondo kept his conversation with Chihiro in mind for the rest of the day. It didn’t take long for him to no longer be upset with the prefect but, unfortunately, he did not get the opportunity to apologize to him as a motive was announced around lunchtime.

They were all supposed to go to the AV room. Once inside, they discovered a box of DVDs with their names written on their respective discs. They were to watch theirs separately, without anyone else present, but nothing was said about not being allowed to discuss the content afterwards.

Not that Mondo was sure as fuck going to, not even to Chi, given what his contained. Footage of his gang, the Crazy Diamonds, all cheering him on and congratulating him on his acceptance into Hope’s Peak. A younger boy Mondo knew he recognised stood in the front and centre of it all.

It took Mondo a few stunned moments to remember the boy’s name and connection to him (apart from as a member of the Diamonds) but when it did, it hit him like a ton of bricks, square in the centre of his chest, almost knocking the wind right out of him. His name was Takemichi and he served as Mondo’s right-hand man and de facto leader while Mondo was away at the academy.

This realisation was made even worse by the next scene that played. A chillingly static picture of Michi tied up on a chair in an empty, dully lit concrete room. He was slumped over, unconscious. Although no external wounds were visible, Mondo would be convinced he was dead if not for the very shallow, barely visible rising and falling of his chest.

A cold, bitter bile filled the back of Mondo’s throat as dread penetrated every fibre of his being. If they got Michi, what did it mean for the other Diamonds? The gang that was his entire existence? Mondo forced his brain to violently screech their thoughts to a halt, lest it shattered.

Currently, Michi was the most important living person in his life. Mondo trusted him with almost all of the many secrets that weighed him down like a poisonous block of lead.

When he heard rumours about Michi, due to him openly declaring not to be interested in women, Mondo confronted him. Not out of spite or prejudice, but to understand himself better. Through Michi’s support, Mondo discovered that he identified as bisexual. Michi was the only one who knew this and promised to come out in his stead. It was Mondo’s own right to choose whether or not he wanted to share that with others.

To Mondo, Michi was more than just his right-hand man, he was his ally. That was what almost made him, just for the smallest moment, question whether he should follow Monokuma’s advice and off someone.  
The thought, mercifully, did not last long. Michi and his gang would never allow it. The Crazy Diamonds were many things, but they were definitely not murders.


End file.
